Space Theme Activities Therapy Slide Deck

space activities for kids to use in occupational therapy activities.

Have you been enjoying the occupational therapy slide decks available here on The OT Toolbox? In case you’ve missed them, the virtual therapy slide decks have been a hit with therapists seeking out OT activities that can easily be used in occupational therapy teletherapy sessions or distance learning sessions using little to no equipment. Today, I’ve got a space theme activities therapy slide deck to share…perfect for the kiddo that loves a space theme in learning or therapy sessions and a therapist or parent who loves to see goal progress! Below, you’ll find access to a free OT slide deck to use in addressing specific OT goals. Just modify the activities to meet the needs of your clients or students. This slide deck is a lot like some of my other recent therapy slide decks...you’re going to love this one!

The outer space activities cover a variety of areas: Fine Motor skills, visual perception, handwriting, and self-regulation…all with a space theme. Each activity in the collection involves movement activities that build specific skills. Scroll to the bottom of this post to enter your email to access the latest free occupational therapy slide deck.

Space Activities for Kids

This space theme activity set is great for younger kids who love all things rocket ships, astronauts, planets, and outer space. I know that there has been a lot of difficulty with getting some kids to pay attention during teletherapy sessions. Some kiddos run off during virtual therapy. Others turn off the screen or refuse to work on the session tasks. This space theme slide deck is great for the kids that need help focusing to work on various skill areas.

Pair this free slide deck with some hands-on, multisensory activities for a space theme:

AND, a new resource has been added to the shop: Outer Space Fine Motor Mini-Kit.

Space Therapy Slide Deck

This slide deck is interactive, too making it a fun way for kids to stay engaged during teletherapy sessions. Here’s what’s included:

space activities for kids to use in OT activities

The slides in this space themed virtual session include a warm up, a writing activity, a fine motor task, a visual perception session, and a calm down/self-regulation check in.

Outer space deep breaths for kids

Warm Up Activity- Kids can start the session with outer space deep breaths. This is one of my favorite slides on the slide deck because children can drag an interactive star along a path, working on visual motor skills, motor planning, eye-hand coordination AND deep breathing skills to help with worries or anxiety. This slide is a great way to start off a therapy session or a distance learning session.

Space activities to work on handwriting with kids

Space Writing Activity- The handwriting portion of this OT slide deck includes three space themed writing prompts. There is a self-check component so children can assess their handwriting for each prompt. Kids working on letter formation, line awareness, spacing, and legibility will benefit from this section of the slide deck.

Space handwriting activity for kids
Space activities for kids to work on fine motor skills

Fine Motor Space Activity- This activity is a fun one, and it uses only a couple of items that children should already have in the home: paper, a pencil, and their hands. Children can follow the directions on the slides along with the therapist to complete a fine motor activity that builds hand strength, coordination, bilateral coordination, arch development, motor planning, precision, an open thumb web-space, and more.

Visual motor activities for kids
Rocket ship activities for kids to work on visual perception

Space Visual Perceptual Skills- The next section of the slide deck includes two slides designed to build visual perceptual skills including form constancy, visual discrimination, figure-ground. Visual processing skills such as visual scanning and visual tracking, and eye-hand coordination are challenged with these slides as children can click on the colored images and drag it to to the shaded shadow match. There are two separate slides in the vision section.

space activities for calming down and coping strategies for kids

Calm Down- This coping tools section of the outer space slide deck includes deep breathing tools to help kids focus on effective breathing and positioning.

space activities for self-regulation

Check-In- Lastly, you’ll find a calm down slide that incorporates the colors of the Zones of Regulation program. Children can complete the calm down movement activities shown on the slides and then choose a color to check in for their state of feelings. They can click on the colored astronauts and drag it to identify their current state.

This free slide deck uses space activities and an outer space theme for kids

Want this Space Theme Activity Set?

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    HERE ARE MORE MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES TO USE IN VIRTUAL OT SESSIONS

    Heavy work movement activity cards

    Monthly movement activities

    Teletherapy activities for kids

    Monster Movement Slide Deck

    Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

    Know a kiddo that loves all things space, astronauts, and planets? The Outer Space Fine Motor Kit is your chance to develop fine motor strength, dexterity, and coordination skills.

    Addressing hand strength, endurance, and precision is out of this world fun! The Outer Space Fine Motor Kit includes:

    • Fine Motor Mazes
    • Fine Motor Ten Frames for motor activities
    • 1-20 Star Counting Cards
    • Bead Copying Strips
    • Space Alien Directed Drawing Sheets

    This fine motor kit includes 24 pages of printable resources. Included in this printable pack are:

    1. Two pages of color coded bead copying strips
    2. Two pages of blank bead copying strips
    3. Four pages of “draw and write” directed drawing activities with a space theme (Includes 3 styles of handwriting lines: highlighted lines, single rule, and double rule)
    4. Nine pages of fine motor mazes
    5. 1-20 Outer Space Counting Cards
    6. Four pages of fine motor ten frames activities

    These printable activities extend to work on a variety of other functional areas, too: handwriting skills, numbers, math, adding, subtracting, one-to-one correspondence, scissor skills, coloring, and more.

    Click HERE to grab the Outer Space Fine Motor Mini-Kit.

    Outer Space Fine Motor Kit

    Virtual Therapy Slide Deck to Teach Straight Line Letters

    Teach kids to write straight line letters with this free virtual therapy slide deck

    Teaching letter formation doesn’t need to be boring. Teach kids how to write letters by beginning with letters that have straight lines (horizontal and vertical lines) to make it developmentally appropriate. Today, I’ve got a free virtual therapy slide deck to teach straight line letters in occupational therapy virtual sessions. Help kids work on letter formation of straight line letters using whole-body gross motor activities and motor planning concepts. Straight line letters are those letters that contain horizontal and vertical lines: (E, F, H, I, L, T) and are great letters to begin wiht when teaching handwriting.

    This free slide deck offers movement based, gross motor activities to work on writing straight line letters.

    Teach kids to write straight line letters with this free virtual therapy slide deck

    Teaching kids to write letters helps when you begin with developmentally appropriate letters, based on straight lines. These easy tips for teaching handwriting explains more on that concept of starting by teaching upper case letters first (though the concept of lowercase letters can be taught from the beginning as well.

    By helping kids understand that letters are “built” from lines and curves, they can get a better visual picture in their mind. Building letters is one way to work on these concepts.

    In this particular slide deck, you’ll see that we are really working on the motor plan of letters. This whole-body lesson helps kids to gain motor skills such as crossing midline, coordination, core strength, and balance, as well as motor planning skills. Check out this post for more information on motor planning and handwriting. The impact of motor planning on writing skills is pretty huge!

    Here are more motor planning resources and tools found on The OT Toolbox. Add some of these ideas to your virtual therapy sessions, too.

    Looking for more tools to use in teaching letter formation? Try these ideas:

    Free Letter Formation Slide Deck– This is another slide deck that has a scribble theme to work on letter formation. Kids won’t be scribbling those letters, though! They will be working on fine motor skills, visual perception, gross motor, and more…all needed to write letters clearly!

    Lowercase Letter Formation Activities

    10 Ways to Teach Letter Formation

    Letter Reversals

    Fine Motor Alphabet and Play Dough

    Magnetic Alphabet and Spoons Game

    Grab your Straight Line Letters Slide Deck

    Get this Straight Line Letter slide deck

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      Letter Formation Slide Deck for Teletherapy

      This occupational therapy virtual therapy slide deck helps OTs lead teletherpay sessions covering skills like letter formation, visual motor skills, fine motor skills, with a calm down, motor planning, activity and more.

      This letter formation activity for teletherapy sessions is one that is perfect for virtual sessions. Use the slidedeck to upload right to your Google classroom or other teletherapy platform. You can go through the slides along with the child, or use them as an independent occupational therapy home program without individualized intervention from the occupational therapist. There are many underlying skills that play a part in letter formation. When using them in OT interventions, therapists can intervene with specific adaptations, modifications, and strategies to help kids improve on various skill areas such as visual motor skills, fine motor skills, motor planning, bilateral coordination, crossing midline, sensory processing, core strength, balance, positioning, and more.

      This occupational therapy virtual therapy slide deck helps OTs lead teletherpay sessions covering skills like letter formation, visual motor skills, fine motor skills, with a calm down, motor planning, activity and more.

      “Scribble Theme” Letter Formation Teletherapy SlideDeck

      This free virtual therapy session outline goes through several areas:

      Warm-Ups

      Handwriting

      Fine Motor Skills/Motor Planning/Direction Following

      Visual Motor work/Fine Motor Skills

      Yoga/Calm Down/Gross Motor/Balance

      Get a free occupational therapy screen deck to use in virtual therapy sessions.

      This free virtual therapy activity set can be used in face-to-face interventions, too. The options are pretty much limitless.

      Work on fine motor, gross motor letter formation, sensory processing, visual motor and more in this letter formation Scribble Day themed teletherapy session.

      Along with the worksheet is one that I created as a free printable that went out to The OT Toolbox newsletter list.

      Use this letter formation activities in virtual therapy with OT patients.

      In the printable worksheet, children can work on letter formation and writing letters in a small space. Kids can copy the letters and then copy the scribbles into the boxes at the bottom. This printable page is free for you today, too! Bonus news is that when you access this freebies, you’ll be entered onto The OT Toolbox subscriber list. Win, win, win, right? Don’t worry, you can unsubscribe at any time, if you like.

      If you would like free printable tools like this one, subscribe to our newsletter. You’ll get resources and tips in your inbox, along with the weekly Friday Freebie. It’s a fun time!

      Fine motor activities in an occupational therapy teletherapy session.

      Enter your email to access this free “Scribble Theme” Occupational therapy slide deck:

       Use this OT teletherapy activity slide deck in virtual therapy for occupational therapy sessions at home.

      Slime Pencil Grasp Activity

      Working on pencil grasp? Or are you looking for a fresh fine motor activity that builds pencil grasp in kids? This slime fine motor activity is just that. It’s a fun and messy way to strengthen fine motor skills needed for a functional pencil grasp…using slime! You may have read the title of this blog post and thought “What does slime have to do with a pencil grasp activity?” Well, this slime activity sure does meet the requirements for fine motor activities that double as pencil grip activities. Read on!

      Slime Activity

      Use slime to work on pencil grasp and fine motor skills kids need for stronger hands.

      Do you have kids that are still loving slime? We’ve made a lot of slime activities in our days, including a slime exercises, a great way to build hand strength in a fun way. We’ve even practiced handwriting using cursive letter beads for our cursive letter slime activity. One of our favorite slime activities was cutting it with scissors as a scissor skills activity.

      When it comes to working on writing and pencil grasp, however, some of these activities play a part in building a better pencil grasp. Slime is a great way to work on intrinsic hand strength and fine motor skill development. If you’ve ever played with slime, then you might know why.

      Slime has a consistency that is a pretty sticky. It sort of molds to itself and spreads at the same time (weird, right?) so that when it’s near the edge of a table, it spreads and then strings down to the floor in a long strand. (Which if your table is over a rug or carpet, grab that carpet cleaner!)

      Slime Activity to Build Fine Motor Skills

      This slime idea uses any slime recipe. You can find tons of homemade slime recipes online. We made homemade slime when we made a slime writing tray, but this activity focuses on strengthening the fine motor skills needed for skills like pencil grasp, manipulating items like buttons and snaps, or other functional tasks.

      Hand strength with slime and work on pencil grasp with  slime to make handwriting fun.

      This activity uses regular slime just two materials. Here are Amazon affiliate links so you can set this activity up:

      Slime- Make your own or use a slime kit

      Clear Marbles

      Small ContainerUse one with a lid. A smaller-sized container requires a smaller space to manipulate with the hand, providing a strengthening opportunity.

      To set up this slime hand strengthening activity

      Use slime to work on fine motor hand strength

      1. Place slime into a container.

        Use a reusable food storage container such as a Rubbermaid food storage container. This allows the activity to be used over and over again.

      2. Add clear marbles to the slime.

        Students can press the marbles down into the slime using one finger. This is a great finger isolation activity. Read more on what finger isolation is and why this important fine motor skill matters so much.

      3. Move those marbles!
        Use the fingertips to find and locate a marble in the slime.

        Once you find a marble, use the fingertips to pull it out of the slime. Pulling a marble from the slime requires strength, but also works to improve that hand strength. Because the slime is in a smaller container, the arches of the hand/intrinsic hand muscles have to work to maintain grasp against the pull of the slime.

      4. Remove slime from the marbles.

        This is the messy part…in a good way! Use the fingertips to pull and remove slime from the surface of the marble. This is another way to strengthen and improve endurance as well as dexterity in manipulating with the fingertips.

      5. Do it again!

        Once you’ve located all of the marbles, press them back into the slime. This is a great hide and seek activity that can be passed on to another client or to use in the next therapy session.

      Work on finger isolation and other fine motor skills kids need for pencil grasp, using slime!
      Use slime to work on finger isolation and other fine motor skills.
      Kids can work on hand strength and fine motor skills needed for pencil grasp using slime and some marbles.
      Slime is a great way to work on arch development and intrinsic hand strength.
      Slime makes a great tools for working on pencil grasp with kids!

      Grade this Fine Motor Strengthening Activity

      You can adjust this activity to make it harder or more resistive for those building their hand strength. It can be downgraded as well to make it easier for those needing an easier fine motor activity.

      Adjust the resistance of the slime- add more liquid to make the slime easier to manipulate. You could experiment with adding other materials to hold the slime, making it easier to remove from the marble. Some ideas include foam balls, glitter, flour, or other materials. This collection of slime add-ins is a good way to experiment.

      Add resistance by leaving the slime exposed to air for several hours. This will make the slime more rubbery and harder to manipulate.

      More Slime Pencil Grasp Activities

      Working on the fine motor skills needed for a functional pencil grasp doesn’t need to be boring and predictable. Using slime to work on these essential fine motor skills can make pencil grasp tasks fun. We’ve used beads with cursive letters as a slime add in to help with fine motor skills. Kids can use beads like these ones to find and then remove the slime to work on those pencil grasp strengthening skills. Then, practice copying the letter. Extend the activity by asking them to write a word that starts with that letter. The options are endless with an open-ended slime activity like this one.

      Use slime to help kids work on pencil grasp in a fun and out of the box activity.

      Want to Take pencil grasp to the next level?

      Join our free, 5 day pencil grasp challenge! We’re talking all things pencil grasp with fun and easy activities designed to build a better pencil grasp. Join in on the fun!

      5 Things OTs Want Parents to Know About Pencil Grasp

      Pencil grasp recommendations is a question that comes up a lot when kids have trouble with handwriting. In fact, many times occupational therapists receive a referral to check on a child with handwriting challenges and one of the things the teacher mentions is the child’s pencil grasp. Parents may have a lot of questions about pencil grasp development, too. They may wonder if their child is on track with their pencil grasp or how to help kids that are struggling with holding a pencil. The thing is that there is a lot that goes into gripping a pencil! Here are the top things that pediatric OTs wish parents knew about pencil grasp.

      Facts therapists with parents knew about pencil grasp

      Pencil Grasp Recommendations

      If your eyes glaze over when it comes to pencil grasp, how your child is holding a pencil, and how to help them, don’t worry! Here are the main points you need to know about pencil grasp development:

      #1 Pencil grasp is not clear-cut.

      In typically developing kids, children progress from using their whole arm to move a crayon, to using their forearm and wrist, to using their fingertips. That progression indicates upper bodies that support the arm, strong arms to stabilize posture, and refined fine motor skills.

      In children with physical, cognitive, or neurodevelopmental considerations, grasp may not follow the age progression or demonstrate delays in progression. Other children skip developmental stages of pencil grasp for a variety of reasons.

      #2 Limit the screens and offer more play.

      Kids today are exposed to a variety or play activities (or lack thereof). They are also exposed to technology and screens from a very young age.

      Think about it this way: when a young child holds a screen, they are missing out on time that other generations would have had to experience play and activity through their hands. They are also spending hours of time in some cases with a “screen grasp”. When a young child holds a screen, there is heavy weight through the ulnar side of the hand. The pinky side of the hand curves over and is in constant active grasping position to hold onto the screen or device.

      That allows for a lot of strength in the pinky side of the hand, and time spent in the same position. The hand isn’t getting a variety of experiences to stabilize, manipulate which are important for in-hand manipulation and separation of the sides of the hand.

      Then, the child is typically using the pointer finger to swipe. There isn’t the variety of grasp, manipulation, pincer development, and precision occuring.

      Likewise, with screen use, there is a shift to thumb swiping and movements of the thumb on the screen. The thenar eminence gets a lot of the same motions. All of this adds up to a perfect storm of limited fine motor experience and lack of fine motor skills.

      #3 Functional writing is most important.

      This is one of the biggest take-aways that therapists want parents to know: A functional pencil grasp might not look like the traditional tripod grasp. Kids can hold their pencil with a thumb-wrap, cross-over, modified tripod, quadrupod grasp, or any of the many other variations…and STILL write in a way that is legible and efficient.

      Research tells us that pencil grasps do not impact skills like letter formation or legibility. In the child using a mature pencil grasp (the fingers and hands do the work to move the pencil), variations of pencil grasp do not impact writing speed.

      When speed is an issue, there is probably something else going on such as the child is using a transitional grasp pattern, sensory issues like heavy writing pressure are present, or motor planning issues like letter formation are occuring.

      #4 Kids need play! Yes, it’s worth repeating. 

      Coloring, play dough, climbing trees, tumbling in the grass, and manueving on the monkey bars are important parts of pencil grasp development.

      It’s true! The underlying skills that kids need to grasp the pencil and write occurs through play. The early stages of child development includes lots of crawling, and that’s an important stage!

      Many times, we see fine motor difficulties in kids that skip the crawling stage. Sometimes the connection between crawling, fine motor exposure, and play isn’t apparent when it comes to pencil grasp.

      Children need fine motor play to develop hand strength for precision and using those fingers. Kids need to climb and move to gain stability and control in their upper bodies so their shoulders and arms are able to support and stabilize distal mobility.

      #5 Don’t rush the “picture perfect” pencil grasp.

      So often, kids are rushed to hold a pencil perfectly. This assumption happens in classrooms everyday. Kids begin to write letters before they are developmentally able to hold and manipulate a pencil at a level that “looks correct” and in the meantime, miss out on valuable progression through pencil grasp stages.

      We are seeing children start to learn to write letters in preschool and are pushed to write letters, words, and sentences in kindergarten. Going by developmental progression, this is before a child is developmentally able to manipulate a pencil with precision and mobility in the fingers and hand.

      It’s OK to see a pencil grasp that isn’t perfect in preschool, kindergarten, or even the early grades. Keep offering fine motor experiences, play, and activities!

      Need more pencil grasp help?

      Try some of these fine motor activities to promote the skills kids need:

      Use small pencils. Broken crayons and golf-sized pencils are perfect!

      Try these games to build a better pencil grasp.

      Improve pencil grasp with play.

      free pencil grasp challenge

      JOIN THE PENCIL GRASP CHALLENGE!

      Want to know how to fix a problem with pencil grasps? Need help knowing where to start when it comes to immature pencil grasps or a child hating to write because their hand hurts? The Pencil Grasp Challenge in open for you! In this free, 5 day email series, you’ll gain information, resources, specific activities designed to promote a functional, efficient pencil grasp.

      The pencil grasp challenge is a free, 5 day mini course and challenge. During the course of five days, I’ll be teaching everything you need to know about the skills that make up a functional pencil grasp. You’ll learn what’s going on behind the inefficient and just plain terrible pencil grasps you see everyday in the classroom, clinic, or home. Along with loads of information, you’ll gain quick, daily activities that you can do today with a kiddo you know and love. These are easy activities that use items you probably already have in your home right now.

      Besides learning and gaining a handful (pun intended) of fun ideas to make quick wins in pencil grasp work, you’ll gain:

      • 5 days of information related to pencil grasp, so you know how to help kids fix an immature pencil grasp.
      • Specific activities designed to build a functional pencil grasp.
      • Free printable handouts that you can use to share with your team or with a parent/fellow teachers.
      • You’ll get access to printable challenge sheets, and a few other fun surprises.
      • And, possibly the best of all, you’ll get access to a secret challengers Facebook group, where you can share wins, chat about all things pencil grasp, and join a community of other therapists, parents and teachers working on pencil grasp issues.

      Click here to join the Pencil Grasp Challenge.

      Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

      What is a Functional Pencil Grasp

      What is a functional pencil grasp and how does that impact handwriting in kids

      The term “functional pencil grasp” is one of the possibly most discussed concepts when it comes to handwriting issues. School-based occupational therapists know that pencil grasp is one of those topics that come up so often. The question that often comes up is whether a pencil grasp is functional or if it’s one that should be addressed through fine motor work, strengthening, or possibly OT interventions. Today, we’re talking about all things functional pencil grasp, the grasp patterns involved, and what exactly makes up a functional pencil grip on a pencil.

      Functional Pencil Grasp or Inefficient Pencil Grasp

      A quick guide to understanding pencil grasp and exactly what a functional pencil grasp is

      First, let’s talk about what it is that makes up a functional pencil grasp. A functional grasp is one in which the writer uses a pencil both efficiently and effectively. A functional grasp is one that the student is able to write without several big issues.

      When a student writes with a pencil, they may not use the clear-cut tripod grasp. The student may write all of the letters and numbers in a clear and legible manner, but hold the pencil with a really awkward and strange positioning. The pencil grasp might not look like a traditional tripod grasp or modified tripod grasp. The child may use three or four, or even five fingers on their pencil, yet write in a way that is actually legible and time efficient. A grasp might look really out of place in the classroom, but be able to read their writing later when they come back to read over their notes.

      A functional pencil grasp can exist with one or more of the aspects which are considered inefficient, yet the written work is still legible. When a grasp is legible and efficient, it is considered functional.

      Many (many) of us have unique and very functional pencil grasps. The issue is when a quirky grip on the pencil becomes a cause for illegibility, fatigue, joint strain, or other concern.  In those cases, a grasp should be addressed. 

      Remember that a functional pencil grasp is the one we want to see. A functional pencil grasp might look like various things. Every child may have different tendencies when it comes to “functional” 

      Functional means the student can hold the pencil, write with legible handwriting, and doesn’t have joints that are hyperextended or otherwise inefficient in joint positioning. Fatigue and endurance play a part in a functional pencil grasp.

      Functional grasp means the child can perform the strokes that make up letters and numbers without pain, low endurance, misaligned joints, or with proximal motions of the arm.

      Inefficient Pencil Grasp- An inefficient pencil grasp is one which is not functional. There are several components that indicate an inefficient grasp, and a child does not need to present with all of these components to utilize an inefficient pencil grasp. Some examples of an inefficient pencil grasp include:

      • A pencil grasp that uses the power fingers as opposed to the action fingers
      • Joints that are hyper-extended or bent back beyond normal range of motion
      • Joints that demonstrate extreme pressure on the pencil and appear lightened in skin tone due to so much pressure being used through the joints (See below)
      • A pencil that is moved by proximal movements, such as shoulder, forearm, or wrist mobility
      • A pencil grasp that does not utilize separation of the sides of the hand (the Power Fingers are not bent into the palm to support the Action Fingers)
      • Poor distal mobility of the fingers when moving the pencil (See below)
      • A “hooked wrist” or wrist flexion when writing
      • Inefficient writing speed, or a pencil speed that is laborious
      • Excessive pencil pressure leading to dark pencil writing that is difficult to read
      • Fatigue or pain when writing
      What is a functional pencil grasp and how does that impact handwriting in kids

      Each of the items discussed in this list could be covered in a whole article of their own. Let’s cover a few of these topics here.

      Handwriting Speed- Some research has found that there is no impact between various types of mature pencil grasps as they relate to handwriting legibility and speed. What this tells us is that tells us that a child using a mature pencil grasp has options! There doesn’t need to be a strict focus on the tripod grasp if a child is using a modified tripod or quadrupod grasp. (Schwellnus, H. et al., 2012) What does come into play in regards to handwriting speed is a need to work on letter formation, transitioning or primitive pencil grasps, or other underlying concerns. Some of these issues might be proximal weakness, sensory processing issues (that present as pencil pressure, or writing very heavily which can slow down handwriting speed), or other concerns.

      Pencil pressure- Sometimes, children hold their pencil very tightly.  They press so hard on the paper, that lines are very dark when writing.  The pencil point breaks.  When erasing, the pencil marks don’t completely erase, and the paper is torn.  The non-dominant, assisting hand moves the paper so roughly that the paper crumbles.  When turning pages in a notebook, the pages tear or crumble.  Movements are not fluid or efficient.  Handwriting takes so much effort, that the child becomes fatigued, frustrated, and sore.  It may take so much effort to write a single word, that handwriting is slow and difficult.  It’s messy. It’s not functional handwriting. 

      Other times, the pencil pressure is just too light. Kids may write so lightly that you can’t read the overall writing sample. Other times, you can’t discern between certain letters. Maybe you notice that the writing pressure is just so light that the child’s hand or sleeve smudges the pencil lines and the writing sample is totally not functional or legible. Some students vary in their pencil pressure. They may start out writing at a legible pencil pressure, but as they write their hand get tired and with that hand fatigue, the writing gets lighter and lighter.

      Here is more information on pencil pressure in handwriting and how to help with creative activities.

      Pencil control/Poor distal mobility/Poor proximal stability- Writing with proximal mobility versus using the fingers to manipulate and move the pencil is one aspect that makes up an inefficient grasp. In order to demonstrate distal mobility, proximal support and stability is needed.

      Functional pencil grasp is a skill kids need for efficient and legible handwriting

      Other pencil grasp red flags might include:

      • Writing with a flexed wrist
      • Closed thumb web-space
      • Hyperextended joints or white knuckles from the strain of holding the pencil
      • Holding the pencil with a full fist
      • Illegible writing
      • Hand fatigue when writing
      • Extension of the pinkie finger or ring finger when writing

      As discussed above, some of these “red flags” may be noted in a child that writes with a functional manner. That is, the grasp appears awkward, et the letters and words are legible and the speed is efficient.

      Here is more information on pencil control and distal mobility in handwriting.

      Here are games to improve pencil grasp.

      Kinds of Functional Pencil Grasps

      Static Tripod Grasp-Between about 3.5-4 years of age, a static tripod grasp develops. This grasp permits the child to hold the writing utensil with the thumb and index finger with the pencil shaft resting on the DIP joint of the middle finger. Mobility of the pencil occurs from larger joints while the fingers remain static. The hand moves as one unity with this grasp. Sometimes, the wrist is positioned in a bent or “flexed” position, but this graspand it’s positioning are typically developing in the 3.5-4 year old child.

      Dynamic Tripod Grasp- This grasp allows the student to write with precision using the thumb and index finger in a pinching position at the end of the pencil. The pencil rests on the DIP joint of the middle finger, and the ring and pinky fingers are tucked into the hand, or palm for a separation of the sides of the hand. Mobility of the pencil occurs by motions through the thumb, pointer finger, and middle finger. This grasp t[ically presents with a slightly extended wrist, and an open thumb webspace. This pencil grasp typically develops between 4.5 and 5 years.

      Static Quadripod/Quadrupod Grasp- This grasp is similar to the static tripod grasp, but the student holds the pencil with the ring finger on the shaft of the pencil.

      Other Functional Pencil Grasps- There are many other grasps which can be deemed functional. Some of those include versions of thumb wrap grasps, index finger wrapped grasps, inter-digital grasps, and many others. The most important thing to remember is the “functional” part of a grasp. As log as the child is writing in a way that is functional for their needs, the grasp is typically good to go!

      Here are fun fine motor activities to improve pencil grasp toward a tripod or dynamic tripod grasp.

      How to develop a functional Pencil grasp

      Want to know how to fix a problem with pencil grasps? Need help knowing where to start when it comes to immature pencil grasps or a child hating to write because their hand hurts? The Pencil Grasp Challenge in open for you! In this free, 5 day email series, you’ll gain information, resources, specific activities designed to promote a functional, efficient pencil grasp.

      The pencil grasp challenge is a free, 5 day mini course and challenge. During the course of five days, I’ll be teaching everything you need to know about the skills that make up a functional pencil grasp. You’ll learn what’s going on behind the inefficient and just plain terrible pencil grasps you see everyday in the classroom, clinic, or home. Along with loads of information, you’ll gain quick, daily activities that you can do today with a kiddo you know and love. These are easy activities that use items you probably already have in your home right now.

      Besides learning and gaining a handful (pun intended) of fun ideas to make quick wins in pencil grasp work, you’ll gain:

      • 5 days of information related to pencil grasp, so you know how to help kids fix an immature pencil grasp.
      • Specific activities designed to build a functional pencil grasp.
      • Free printable handouts that you can use to share with your team or with a parent/fellow teachers.
      • You’ll get access to printable challenge sheets, and a few other fun surprises.
      • And, possibly the best of all, you’ll get access to a secret challengers Facebook group, where you can share wins, chat about all things pencil grasp, and join a community of other therapists, parents and teachers working on pencil grasp issues.

      Click here to join the Pencil Grasp Challenge.

      free pencil grasp challenge

      Schwellnus, H., Carnahan, H., Kushki, A., Polatajko, H., Missiuna, C., & Chau, T. (2013). Writing forces associated with four pencil grasp patterns in grade 4 children. The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association67(2), 218–227. doi:10.5014/ajot.2013.005538

      Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

      Pencil Grasp Challenge Waitlist

      Great! Your email address has been added to The Pencil Grasp Challenge Waitlist. You should have a freebie waiting for you in your inbox right now. Grab that freebie and then you can expect pencil grasp resources each week. AND, once we open up the Pencil Grasp Challenge again, you’ll be the first to know!

      Here are some pencil grasp tools you may enjoy until then:

      Pencil Grasp Tools

      What is a functional pencil grasp? Discover what it is that makes up a functional pencil grasp, and inefficient pencil grasp, and what to do about pencil grasp issues.

      Easy Pencil Grasp Trick– The easy pencil grasp trick described in this post is one that provides a frugal option for ensuring a functional pencil grasp and one that plays into the dexterity needed for letter formation and handwriting

      5 Things OTs want Parents to Know About Pencil Grasp– Parents and teachers many times, have a lot of questions about pencil grasp development. They may wonder if their child is on track with their pencil grasp or how to help kids that are struggling with holding a pencil. The thing is that there is a lot that goes into gripping a pencil! This post identifies the top things that pediatric OTs wish parents knew about pencil grasp.

      Thumb Wrap Pencil Grasp– Kids may wrap their thumb around the pencil when writing as a means of addressing instability or weakness in the muscles of the hand. This compensation grasp can impact functional writing. The thumb wrap pencil grasp exercise in this blog post is an easy one to put together and one that will help kids gain strength in the muscles that make up a functional grasp.

      See you in the challenge once it starts back up again!

      Lowercase Letter Formation

      lowercase letter formation activities

      Teaching kids to write lowercase letters can be a tricky task. Kids are exposed to different techniques depending on if they went to preschool or not. Some children pick up on lowercase letter formation easily and others struggle with reversals, placement on lines, and accurate letter formation. Today, I’ve got some tips and tricks to teach kids how to write lowercase letters and a tool that kids will love.

      Lowercase letter formation activities

      Lowercase Letter Formation

      Teaching lowercase letter formation can be fun! We’ve shared quite a few ways to use creative activities in teaching kids to write letters here on the website. One such activity is using a sensory means with baked cotton swabs.

      Like we talked about in yesterday’s play-based learning post, we know that adding movement, play, and a creative component to learning allows kids to engage with learning in a way that allows children to truly benefit from the learning experience.

      Ways to work on lowercase letter formation

      Using play and movement in working on letter formation takes just a little out of the box thinking. Here are some ways to teach letter formation with movement and play.

      Use a sensory writing tray to teach lowercase letters.

      Add movement! Add motor components to teaching letter formation as kids learn how to form big lines down, curves, and slanted lines. Letters can be acted out with letter formation rhymes or with themes.

      Use a color by letter worksheet to work on fine motor skills and the letter discrimination skills needed for connecting a lowercase letter to an uppercase letter.

      Build lowercase letters with play dough, slime, wikki stix, yarn, or paper strips/paper curves.

      Trace and then re-trace the letters on a dry erase board. Rainbow writing offers several chances to practice letter formation.

      Trace letters with a finger. Then use finger paint, pudding, dish soap, lotion, or cooking oil.

      Want an easy, on-the-go tool for working on lowercase letter formation in a fun and engaging way? I’ve got a fun way to help…

      Lowercase Letter Formation Kit

      Muscle Movers are a tools for working on letter formation with a focus on movement, motor planning, gross motor skills, and play.

      Heavy duty laminate cards with letters on one side, unique animals and activities on the other – the educational opportunities are endless.

      Use the cards for letter recognition and getting the wiggles out, add Wikki stix or PlayDoh to allow your Little Learner to use their fine motor skills to form the letters on the card and finally practice with the included dry erase pen.

      I Can Build Letters! Magnets (with a magnetic dry erase board)– This set includes hands on letter building with colorful lines and curves used to work on letter formation. These colorful, super-strong magnets allow help improve problem solving and fine motor skills while visually supporting letter formation. These can be used on any magnetic surface.

      I Can Build Letters guide– Use this guide as a companion to the I Can Build Letters! Magnets. Your child can start by building the letters on top of each guide on a regular surface, progress to a magnetic surface and then ultimately build letter puzzles with the color builder guide

      I Can Write Letters! Workbook– Little Learners start writing using Fundanoodle’s zip, zoom, and buzz terminology. With our grid paper, they learn how to keep their letter a consistent size and we introduce the letters from easiest to hardest to write to develop confidence. And each book includes a series of practice pages and a reward sticker system

      The Fundanoodle Letter Fun Kits come in a colorful zippered tote for learning on the go!

      More lowercase letter writing activities

      Some of the smartest and most creative folks I know are the readers of The OT Toolbox. I asked readers to tell me sensory strategies they personally love and use to address sensory modulation. Scroll through the comments…you might just find some new sensory strategies that will work for you! Hopefully we can learn from one another!

      Also, check out these other soy suggestions based on therapeutic development through play.

      1. Fine Motor Toys 
      2. Gross Motor Toys 
      3. Pencil Grasp Toys 
      4. Toys for Reluctant Writers
      5. Toys for Spatial Awareness 
      6. Toys for Visual Tracking 
      7. Toys for Sensory Play 
      8. Bilateral Coordination Toys 
      9. Games for Executive Functioning Skills 
      10. Toys and Tools to Improve Visual Perception 
      11. Toys to Help with Scissors Skills
      12. Toys for Attention and Focus 

      Cursive Writing for Beginners

      We have a lot of cursive writing posts here on The OT Toolbox. Check out the search bar and you’ll see tips for how to teach cursive writing, help with cursive writing speed, and even cursive letter order. There is a lot that goes into teaching cursive writing to kids. It doesn’t need to be complicated, though. Here, you will find a plan starting at the beginning when teaching cursive. This is everything you need to know about cursive writing for beginners.

      Use these tips to teach cursive when working on cursive writing for beginners.

      Cursive Writing- Start at the Beginning

      Think about when kids start to learn cursive. They might be in second o third grade, or between 7 and 8 years old. Or, depending on the school and the cursive writing curriculum, there may or may not even be a plan in place to teach cursive writing.

      Some teachers have to come up with cursive lesson plans on their own. Others follow a cursive curriculum such as Zabner-Browser, Handwriting without Tears, or D’Nealian. Sometimes, the school district allows a set number of weeks for cursive writing and if a child misses days during that time period, they miss the boat on learning a certain letter in cursive formation . In most cases, cursive is taught once and not covered again. Kids can write their spelling words in cursive or complete journals entries in cursive, but they are not required to do so. Usually, that is the only practice a student gets in fine tuning their cursive handwriting. Letter formation might get checked, but not graded for accuracy and the child doesn’t have the chance to go back and correct letter formation errors. They may not even notice a teacher’s marks on a letter formation mistake.

      How to start teaching cursive

      We’ve shared a lot of strategies to teach cursive here on The OT Toolbox. When getting started with cursive writing for beginners, try some of these first steps to cursive writing success:

      Start with these pre-cursive activities. Start with pre-cursive lines and use the activities in this post to work on curves, lines, bumps, waves, and re-trace lines.

      Grab these cursive flashcards to work on multisensory writing strategies when practicing cursive letter formation.

      Use this gross motor warm-up before starting a cursive letter lesson. It’s a nice way to get the whole class geared up and ready to write.

      Be sure to start with posture and paper positioning when beginning cursive lessons.

      Use these tips to teach cursive s.

      Try a cursive lines worksheet. Use the free worksheet below.

      free cursive writing worksheet is great for teaching cursive to beginners.

      Cursive Writing Worksheet

      Use this free cursive lines worksheet to work on pencil control, cursive lines, and motor planning needed for connecting letters, re-tracing over cursive letters, and gaining motor control needed for smooth writing lines.

      Enter your email below to access your free cursive writing worksheet.

      Free Cursive Lines Worksheet

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        Print off the cursive writing worksheet and trace the lines in a variety of ways to practice smooth lines, re-trace, bumps, and curves. Try some of these cursive worksheet ideas:

        • Try Rainbow writing with colored pencils.
        • Slide the cursive worksheet into a page protector. Use dry erase markers.
        • Color Mixing Writing– Use markers to mix colors while working on line formation and re-trace in cursive.
        • Tape the worksheet to a wall and get the gross motor action involved.
        • Pin the worksheet to a bulletin board. Trace the lines with a highlighter, pencil, pen, or marker to gain sensory feedback from the bulletin board.
        • Sandpaper Writing Trick– Place the cursive worksheet over a sheet of sandpaper. Trace the lines with a pencil to gain proprioceptive feedback when writing the cursive strokes. The sandpaper can be used with markers or a pen as well.